Oswald Peraza, Yankees’ youngsters fuel offense in win over Astros to secure series victory – The Denver Post

HOUSTON — The Yankees’ youth movement supplied most of the team’s runs on Saturday, as four players 24 or younger recorded an RBI in a 5-4 win over the Astros at Minute Maid Park.

Oswald Peraza, 23, started the scoring in the second inning with a single. Oswaldo Cabrera, 24, then drew a bases-loaded walk before the inning came to a close.

Peraza finished the night 3-for-4, adding a double in the process.

“He’s working on things to kind of stay behind the ball and get that separation and take advantage of his strength and his bat speed,” Aaron Boone said of Peraza. “But good to see him get some results tonight.”

A fifth-inning error from Astros second baseman Mauricio Dubón preceded a sac fly from 24-year-old Austin Wells, which tied the game at four. Everson Pereira, 22, followed up with an RBI single.

The Yankees’ other run came on Aaron Judge’s 31st home run of the season, which he struck off Hunter Brown in the third inning of just his 82nd game. Judge’s home run frequency prompted Anthony Volpe to call the captain the “best player in the world,” while Boone added some praise of his own.

“He’s just a great player,” the manager said. “It’s remarkable what he’s able to do.”

Judge, in typical fashion, downplayed the stat, much like he did on Friday when he became the fastest player to 250 career home runs. Instead, he focused on the Yankees’ youngsters on Saturday.

“I think they’re better,” Judge said when asked if he saw comparisons to this group and the Baby Bombers contingent that he joined in 2016. “We had some good guys coming up there in 2016 and 2017, but this group of guys that we have, it’s impressive; their demeanor, the way they carry themselves on the field. We feel like they’ve been here all year. It’s impressive to see that out of guys that young and in a tough, loud environment, and they’re just out there playing some ball. It’s pretty cool to see.”

Brown, only 25 himself, lasted four innings. The rookie allowed five hits and five runs, though only three were earned. But Brown didn’t do himself any favors by walking four over 94 pitches. He struck out five.

Luis Severino, fresh off two strong starts but in the midst of an awful season, took a step back on Saturday, tallying six hits, four earned runs, one walk and three strikeouts over four innings and 104 pitches. His stuff looked good, but the Astros managed to foul off an “unbelievable” 41 pitches.

“No,” Severino said when asked if he ever experienced such a phenomenon. “This is unique. I haven’t seen something like this in my whole career. They made me work really hard.”

The Astros’ four runs off Severino came on two-run homers from Michael Brantley and Yainer Diaz, who went deep in the second and fourth innings, respectively. Houston’s entire lineup made the righty sweat, though, as Severino found himself at 60 pitches before the second inning ended.

“I thought Sevy threw the ball well,” Boone said. “He was pounding the strike zone. Credit to them for just making it so difficult on him. They just kind of outlasted him.”

An impending free agent, Severino now has a 6.75 ERA this season.

While Severino labored, Jhony Brito delivered 3.2 scoreless innings in relief. The 25-year-old held the Astros to two hits and zero walks while striking out one over 42 pitches.

“Man, he was great,” Boone said. “Pounding the zone. Thought he had a really good sinker tonight. And then mixing in his other stuff, but he was on the attack. He was in the zone. He was dictating counts. He was efficient.

“Just a really, really impressive outing by him.”

With a second consecutive series win in the books, the Yankees will look to end their long road trip with another victory on Sunday. Michael King will start for the Yankees, while Cristian Javier will take the ball for Houston.

The Yankees have been experimenting with King as a starter, building him up in recent weeks. He had his best results yet his last time out, holding the Tigers scoreless for four innings while totaling 61 pitches, a season-high, on Aug. 29.

Javier, meanwhile, has been a thorn in the Yankees’ side before. The right-hander spearheaded a joint no-hitter against New York two Junes ago, and he owns a 1.83 ERA over 19.2 innings against the Yankees. That doesn’t include 5.1 scoreless innings in last year’s American League Championship Series.

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